SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff's Office has identified the deputy who shot and killed a man in North Spokane on Jan. 10 after he failed to comply with instructions following a short pursuit.
According to Spokane County Sheriff's Corporal Mark Gregory, the deputy who shot and killed 25-year-old Clando Anitok was Deputy Brent C. Miller. The Spokane County Medical Examiner identified Anitok earlier on Tuesday.
Anitok died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the medical examiner.
Anitok was shot and killed by a Spokane County Sheriff's deputy after a short chase on Friday morning.
There was a heavy police presence near West Monroe Street near North Division Street in Spokane.
Knezovich said preliminary information indicates that deputies tried to make a traffic stop near the intersection of North Wall Street and West Weile Court in at about 3:50 a.m. on Friday. The area is in North Spokane.
After deputies initiated the traffic stop, there was a short pursuit before the suspect drove into a yard, Knezovich said. He said it appears that the suspect hit a fence before getting out of his vehicle.
The suspect then walked toward the deputy and refused to stop, Knezovich said. The deputy then gave the suspect several commands that he did not follow before attempting to deploy his Taser, which failed.
Knezovich said the deputy and suspect engaged in a short foot pursuit that ended in a backyard before the suspect turned toward the deputy for the second time and reached into the front of his waistband.
The deputy gave more commands before firing his handgun one time, striking the man, Knezovich said.
Knezovich said medics were called to the scene but the suspect ultimately died. His name will be released at a later date when it is appropriate, authorities said.
The deputy, whose name will be released at a later date, was uninjured.
It is unknown at this time if the suspect was armed.
The deputy involved in the shooting will be put on administrative leave per Spokane County Sheriff's Office protocol, Knezovich said.
Investigators with the Spokane Investigative Regional Response (SIRR) team are asking that anyone who may have home surveillance video or information related to the incident call Crime Check at 509-456-2233.
The SIRR Team is comprised of multiple agencies in eastern Washington, including the Spokane Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
As an involved agency, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office/Spokane Valley Police personnel will not be involved in the investigation in compliance with WAC 139-12, which was developed after the passage I-940, according to Spokane County Sheriff's Cpl. Mark Gregory.
The Spokane Police Department is the case managing agency for this incident.
Once the investigation is complete, the cases will be forwarded to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office for review, Gregory said.
Knezovich rails against I-940 amid investigation
Knezovich shared his criticism of Initiative 940 during a news conference about the shooting on Friday morning.
He said the sheriff's office can no longer assist the City of Spokane or the Washington State Patrol with the shooting investigation after the initiative's passage in November 2018.
"The full burden of this investigation falls on those two agencies [the city and WSP]," he added.
I-940 was passed with 59 percent of the vote in 2018.
It requires de-escalation, mental health and first aid training for police officers, among other things. It is meant to address police use of force and how officers are prosecuted.
"These new protocols are Draconian to the point where we actually have to get approval when all the pieces are finally put together from a citizen advisory board to advise them that the city needed our drone today, which they did," Knezovich said. "Technically, they aren't supposed to use...any piece of equipment that we own. That's ridiculous."
He added later that the protocols implemented by WAC 139-12 and I-940 are doing "a very big disservice" to Spokane area residents.
Knezovich said the sheriff's office has officially released the inner perimeter of the investigation area to the city, while Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputies are staying on the outer perimeter to assist with traffic control and other areas of the investigation.